Can anyone tell me how the mast breaks down? Are the two pieces half the size of the full mast? Or is it a small base and one 16' mast? How does the mast work? Would be nice if it broke down to two 8' halves so you could put it in the car or something.

The beauty of keeping as one long mast with the sail always furled around it is two-fold Jolly.
1. It is alway ready to go with the downhaul and furl line set-up, and safely stowed in the supplied mast/sail bag.
2. Storing the sail furled around the mast will protect it with no need to fold it into a small sail bag which creates wear creases which itself limits the sails longevity.
The mast is approx the same length as the Island hull so they travel well together on the roof racks or a trailer...Captain Pirate (mmmmm...starting to like that title...LOL)

I have never seen the mast in pieces as mine was ready to go when I got it. Which brings me to the question of .... Is there instructions on how to fold the sail if one needed to? It is not in the manual. This is my first sailboat so I don't have any prior exp. I don't plan on doing it much if at all but it would be nice to know the proper way if there is one. Thanks.

The sail would have come folded and you should find it has a memory where small creases develop. The trick is not to make sharp folds and keep the folds to a minimum, running along the width of the sail. My suggestion is still to keep the mast and sail as one..Captain Pirate